Background
The community-academic partnership involved in this pilot project will share a core interest in improving population health outcomes and addressing significant health disparities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a state, Wisconsin is relatively healthy; it ranked 12th in the United Health Foundation's 2009 American Health Rankings (United Health Foundation, 2009). Milwaukee County, however, presents a starkly different picture in terms of health determinants, ranking as one of the state's least healthy counties: 71st out of the state's 72 counties (County Health Rankings, 2010). Given that Milwaukee is the state's most vital urban area and has the largest county population, the reasons for this ranking have a major impact on the state as a whole (Vila, 2007).
The need for rigorous, scientific population-based health data and better understanding of factors contributing to the complexity of poor health outcomes in Milwaukee is readily apparent. To be effective in enhancing the health of Wisconsin's population, SHOW (Survey of the Health of Wisconsin) findings must reach and influence the lay public. Elimination of health disparities for African Americans requires that representatives from the affected communities be actively involved in all phases of the research, particularly in planning dissemination strategies. (SHOW is an infrastructure for annual health surveys designed to examine the health of the population and communities within Wisconsin).
Goal
To implement a community-academic partnership to actively involve the lay African American community in Milwaukee in the interpretation, dissemination and translation phases of the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW).
Main Objectives
1. Form a SHOW Community Advisory Board (CAB) made up of members of the African American community served by the Social Development Commission;
2. Mobilize and engage the African American community fully in the interpretation of population health research data and in the development of recommendations of health-promoting interventions, policy changes based on study findings, and advising about community dissemination techniques;
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the community engagement model for population health data dissemination and translation of findings to the lay public.
Funding Source
The Wisconsin Partnership Program
Community Partner
Ella Dunbar, Program Services Manager & Deborah Blanks, CEO, Social Development Commission (SDC)
Academic Partner
Loren Galvao, Associate Director of Community Partnerships, Center for Urban Population Health (CUPH) & SHOW Associate Director (Milwaukee site)
Other Project Staff Members:
The Social Development Commission
Michele Nash, Community Partnership Manager
The Center for Urban Population Health
Virginia Zerpa-Uriona, Outreach Specialist
David Frazer, Community Partnerships and Communications Manager
Jessica Bergstrom, Design and Analysis Manager
UW School of Medicine & Public Health
Phoebe Frenette, SHOW Community Relations Coordinator
Contact Information
David Frazer
414-219-4089 • dfrazer@wisc.edu
